These days, the Peruvian news is all about Ciro Castillo Rojo. After more than 200 days of being lost in the Colca Canyon in Arequipa, Peru, they have found his lifeless body intact at the bottom of a cliff, 1400 meters below a viewing point in the tourist area. They recognized him by his clothes, pink watch, and gold necklace as seen in the last photos we had of him. It took 65 people 30 hours to get his body out of there and to a nearby town.

Questions still abound about his disappearance:

• Did his girlfriend, Rosario Ponce López, who was with him before his disappearance, have anything to do with his death? Classmates at their university have apparently stated that she has a tendency to be violent.
• Could the police or local town citizens be involved in his death? Ciro’s mother expresses doubt that Ciro could have fallen because he was found with no jacket and no shoes, but his hat was still on him. Furthermore, only his right arm seemed to be fractured.
• Did someone put him there after his death? He was found in the “backpacking zone” where the rescue team had thoroughly searched various times. Mountain rescue workers predict he died up to two days after breaking his arm (link in Spanish).
• Why are Rosario’s parents in Arequipa? Rosario’s parents admit that they are there to “protect the interests of their daughter” (link in Spanish), but it’s unclear what they mean by that. Even Rosario herself didn’t go to Arequipa for Ciro’s wake.

After finally finding Ciro’s body, people have expressed various emotions from excitement and relief to pain and anger. During a mass in Ciro’s memory attended by more than 500 people, Ciro’s father commented that he was excited to see his son again. Ciro’s mother is happy that she’ll be able to put flowers for him somewhere, but is sad that she will no longer be able to hug him anymore. She’s thankful for the miracle of finding him in October, the month of the “Lord of Miracles” in Peru, but she feels anguish to tuck away the slightest hope she had that he might have still been alive. Even the people of the nearby town, who have taken in the case as their own, grieved for Ciro and felt indignant as they demanded that justice be served.

Only time and an autopsy will reveal the cause of death and bring another onslaught of emotions.

What have you recently lost and found? How did it make you feel?